"Beth, where the hell have you been all this time!?" A worried D opened the door for us, "Hold on, you guys are...!"
"Ha-ha, I kinda took my time with this job..." Beth chuckled, "Wanted to beat the monotony in life, y'know? See some scenic places, meet some new people... And that's why it took so long for us to take you up on that visitation offer!"
"Sorry to intrude." I politely apologized ahead of time, "We just came to safely escort our driver to your house, folks. We'll be in the area until 8, okay?"
"Wha-!? The heck are you talking about?! You guys are hungry too, so just get in already!" Beth ordered.
Hrm... Whilst it's true that we haven't eaten anything but packed sandwiches for a while now and could do with a proper lunch, I still don't wanna be a bother to these people. Beth said she wanted to visit her friend and their families for a bit, which we've allowed and agreed to let her be until it's time to head out for the next stop, but just barging in unexpectedly a second time in someone's house is too much.
"Beth, sigh..." D felt immense disappointment in the depths of his soul, "I'm sorry about her, guys. If I recall correctly, you're the folks she took here from the dock, right? Thank you for safely taking her here."
"No problem at all, D." I accidentally called him by his nickname, "Oh, sorry! Beth kept calling you that so it just felt so natural..."
"Don't worry, I take pride in it." D returned a friendly smile, "You're free to call me whatever. On the other hand, I'm sorry, but I didn't quite remember your names all too well."
"Lune, Cecily, and this little guy is Cene." Beth pointed to all of us before just barging into the house without asking, "Now come on, I wanna see the youngins already!"
"Was that Beth!?" A bunch of kids sounded elated when they heard her running through the hallways, "Gasp, Beth! Everyone, Beth is here!"
What a bratty attitude to display... Hold on, did she just say youngins? As in, they have kids here!?
"Youngins?" Cecily tilted her head.
"Her siblings." D elaborated, "Our families were always close, our houses neighboring each other. But after the war, both houses got destroyed so we had to scrounge up any remaining funds we had to buy this one."
"That's terrible... We hope you guys get back on your feet soon." Cecily gave her best wishes.
"Eh, it's actually quite nice as is." He smirked, "Our parents get to sit back and take care of the kiddos while we, the older siblings so to speak, work to keep the funds up."
"Ah, so it's kinda like what we did back home." I noted, "A zadruga."
This term may be unfamiliar to the readers not originally from Cardina, but a zadruga is an old traditional way of living for the citizens over there. Whilst not exactly widely known nor used, this system where two or more families live together under the same roof to save on resources is what kept them alive when tough times came by. The best example I could give you is the Saints and the Grimhearts teaming up to live in our house before we built Ed's house for them. Hell, I only heard about this term recently, right after I rose from the dead.
"Zadruga?" D furrowed his brow.
"Yeah, apparently it's an old tradition that died out two centuries ago, but there are cases where it can still happen even today." Cecily added, "Actually, an interesting fact to note is that most of the villages in Cardina are just zadrugas that got too big. It's a rather friendly and cooperative system befitting of the Cardinians."
"...Dammit." D clicked his tongue and snapped his fingers, "And here I thought I was being smart and came up with something no one ever thought of before. Well, guess you folks beat us in that regard."
"It's not a competition..." I thought out loud, "Besides, it's not like we patented it or anything. You're free to use it to your heart's content."
"Yeah." Cecily encouraged him as well, "And all the better if it's working so well for you guys!"
"Haha, I guess that is indeed the case." He pointed over his shoulder with his thumb, "No but seriously, we can't have you guys turn back after seeing our reckless Beth off to here, can we? Thanks to this little successful system of ours, we always have leftovers, so please sit down and take a break with us."
"No, we couldn't possibly..."
"I insist."
"...A-Alright then." We sheepishly obliged before entering the warm and spacious hallway, "Thank you, and please excuse us."
This is so embarrassing, just what kind of situation did we get put into thanks to Beth's damned personal wishes? Eh, at least D seems like a normal, reasonable adult person, right? A-Actually, I think that just makes the situation even more awkward for us...
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"Beth brought a man over!" A little girl hollered as soon as she saw me.
"And a woman!" Another little boy added.
"And they already had a kid!?" Yet another boy audibly gasped.
"Ha-ha, nice to meet you too, kiddos...?" Cecily and I awkwardly smirked back as the kids continued playing with Beth on the floor.
"But damn, they're really old..." The little girl commented on our age.
"Alright, NOT nice to meet you." I grumbled, "What's your name, girlie? Or should I stick with Bratty B-Word as a nickname?"
"B-Word? Well, you guessed right!" She proudly puffed out her chest.
"Eh!? I did!?"
"Yeah, my name's Bia!"
"I'm Rex!" The youngest looking boy added.
"Cybe's the name, learning yours is the game!" The oldest brother smirked.
These kids seem... lively. But hey, they're kids, and kids are supposed to be lively. I guess this is what happens when three little kids grow up together. They become rowdy and loud, unlike Nelly and Cene who grew up pretty much isolated from other kids their age. Cene's been doing good with his friends back home, but even then he's pretty quiet and well-behaved despite everything. Still, I don't know much about Rex nor Cybe, apart from the fact they have cool names, but Bia can go jump off the fridge for all I care. Immediately hitting a person you've never met before with a comment on their age, just who the hell does she think she is?
Stolen story; please report.
"And I'm Beth!" Beth announced as the fourth and eldest sibling, "But you already knew that."
"We sure did..." Cecily smirked, "But yeah, introductions are important, so here goes - Hello, it's nice to meet you all. I'm Cecily Grimheart."
"You're very pretty, Cecily!" The boys gave her a hearty thumbs up.
"Eh!? Where'd this come from?"
"Good job boys." D praised them, "You remembered to compliment people when they introduced themselves."
Ah, so it was just something D had taught them. I guess it makes sense though why they went with 'pretty' in this scenario, but I'll admit that it did surprise me just as much to hear these kids so openly express their feelings about my wife's appearance.
"Hey, wanna introduce yourself?" Cecily scruffled Cene's head with a kind, encouraging tone.
"Cene." He muttered.
"Cene what?"
"Ugh..." He grumbled as he hid behind his mother, "Cene Gwimheawt."
"You... can't pronounce your Rs!" The kids smiled.
"Oi, wrong answer! Bad, totally!" D stopped them.
"Huh? Why, it's a compliment?" The kids tilted their heads in unison.
"How is that a compliment?" I honestly couldn't understand where they were coming from.
"You guys don't get it?" Beth elaborated for the kids, "Acknowledging that someone still can't pronounce his or her Rs is basically calling them young, but with the added compliment of having them be connected to their inner child. I think it's a wonderful compliment that perfectly encapsulated all they wanted to tell Cene."
"Mhm, mhm." The tykes nodded, "Exactly what we meant by that! Good job, Beth!"
I think she was just making stuff up to salvage the kids' blurted out negative comment on Cene's speech impediment. That, or she actually thinks the same way as these 6 to 9 year olds do. Besides, what the hell does she mean "Cene's inner child"? He IS a child, dammit! Well, whatever. No matter how nonsensical, that explanation at least seemed to satisfy Cene, so let's leave it be for now.
"I-Is that so..." Cene giggled to himself, "Then I'll nevew leawn that stupid lettew fow the west of my life!"
"No Cene, don't do that..." Cecily and I tried to bring him back on the right path.
"And I'm Lune Grimheart." I finished off the introductions, "Adventurer, general of ARA, ITA deserter, Arthur's brand co-founder, Famed Inventor, winner of the Mobius Awards, General in the Carmen war... You get the point."
"You're annoying." The kids all replied, "But your Eyes are cool.
"Thanks, they're custom made." I grinned, "Courtesy of my mother."
"By the way, D, where are our parents?" Beth asked him out of the Blue.
"Ah, they went on a trip to the other town, so it's just us for the next few days." He nodded, "Never mind that though. Don't lay on the carpet with those dirty clothes you travel in, I just had them taken to the cleaners!"
"Mnnn!" She immediately stretched on the clean carpet before laying flat on it, "Too lazy. I've been working really hard recently, so just call me when lunch is ready, okay?"
"Oh my God, I am SO sorry about her." D turned to us before shouting back at her, "Beth, what the hell kind of attitude are you displaying while we have guests over!?"
"Ohhh, D's mad~!" Bia gave a live commentary of the events currently unfolding in the room, "How will Beth return the masterful rhetoric D dished out?"
"Great question, Bia. Geez, I don't know the answer to that question myself!" Rex replied.
"What a time to be alive, to witness this great battle between giants..." Cybe joined in as well, "I'd say it's anyone's game right now, but in reality, what Beth replies with will be the deciding factor in this thrilling match."
Eh? Masterful rhetoric? Great battle between giants? Deciding factor!? These kids, where the hell did they pick up such advanced vocabulary, they're only a few years older than Cene, geez... Hold on a minute - Nelly also knew quite a lot for her age, though she mostly focused on learning other foreign languages instead of sticking to just Entropic. As a result, I heard she's fluent in not only Entropic and Aurolian, but also at a pretty advanced level for Cardinic. On top of this, she's currently studying in Simpleton, so I have no doubts she's doing well adapting to their language also. Yeah, I keep getting surprised when I see smart kids pop up recently, but I guess gifted individuals always existed in the world. Wait, do I fit into that category? I mean, I didn't have as many tools to acquire said knowledge as these kids do, but for someone born and raised in a secluded village, I think I did pretty well, relatively speaking.
"Hey, were we this smart when we were kids?" Cecily nudged me before whispering in my ear.
"Beth, go change." D growled, "Final warning."
"Bite me!" She stuck her tongue out, "I need to take these guys to the dock before I come back here, so what's the point of changing?"
"I...! Sigh, I see how it is." D slumped forward, "I see being diplomatic just doesn't work out for anyone, so I'll have to resort to extensive force. In advance, I'd like to apologize to our esteemed guests for this unsightly behavior I am about to unleash."
Oh, so that's who the kiddos got the vocab from.
"E-Eh? No problem...?" I raised an Eyebrow, "What are you gonna do to her?"
"Oh nothing, just a simple GET YOUR ASS UP AND GO CHANGE!" D caught her off guard before jumping in to restrain her.
"Ack, hands off, idiot!" She tried wrestling herself free, "Oi, watch where you're grabbing me! Oi, D!?"
And so, just like a robber gets apprehended and taken into custody, Beth was unwillingly dragged into her room by her dear friend to go change her clothes. D returned to where we were a few moments later, sporting a few nasty looking scratches all across his body.
"Geez, what the hell happened?" We worried.
"Don't worry, it's normal behavior." He shrugged, "Now, please have a seat, the food should be ready."
"......"
"...Ow."